FFWD – Creamy Cauliflower Soup Sans Cream

It took me a while to post this week’s recipe, but not because it was a difficult one. This soup is ready from chop to purée in less than an hour and requires only a few vegetables, herbs, and some stock. Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable for puréed soups, because it gives the consistency and velvet feel of a cream soup without reliance on cream. I usually roast cauliflower before adding it to soup, since I prefer the richer flavour that brings. It is nice to know that you can get good results without roasting it, though, on nights when you need to get supper on the table a little faster.

Dorie’s soup is seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, but I added some nutmeg after tasting it, for more complexity. Others in the group added bacon, truffle oil, or gremolata to theirs.

My current favourite cauliflower soup recipe is found at the end of this article on olive oil. It’s similar to Dorie’s, but relies on curry for flavour, which is perfect for cauliflower. I don’t think Dorie’s soup will supplant it in my heart, but I’ll try it this way again and I’ll roast the cauliflower first next time.

I’ll also be trying the mussel version of this recipe some time – it sounds wonderfully flavourful.